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Binding Staff Part 1
Binding Staff Part 1 is the third chapter of The Rise of Luna Nova Valkyries, the first story of Little Witch Academia: Witches of Midgard. Summary An unexpected discovery has taken place in Blytonbury, which prompted Andrew Hanbridge, the viscount and son of Earl of Hanbridge, to enlist Luna Nova their assistance to deal both it and increasing Naglfar threat. The said discovery intrigued Amanda O'Neill who discovered its connection with "Franang's Falls", prompting her to follow Akko, Lotte, Sucy, Diana, and Ursula as they set out to secure the newly discovered Binding Staff only to meet an opposition in form of Ursula's old rival Helviti... Full Recap A middle-aged witch is operating a control panel at what appeared to be an abandoned fortress sat near the shoreline. She dressed with a black witch hat, green mechanic coat over a grey robe, leather gloves, and thick black boots. She also has red eyes with purple highlights, pale white skin, white long hair tied in a bun with blunt-side bangs that cover her right eye, and white hair. The witch is constructing some sort of mechanical constructs with assistance of a number of clockwork drones and mechanical arms operated via. her control panel. Her name is Helviti, a former witch-blacksmith of Thapoli who had switched her allegiance to Naglfar. Just then, Elder Erik entered her lab, with Helviti greets him whilst still focusing on her work, "The Mistress must be displeased, wasn't she? Instead of retaking those bracelets, you unwisely pick the fight against the Cavendish's champion instead of focusing on our utmost priority. No wonder you ended up humiliated by a young witch who never held Fire Valkyrie Armor, old timer." "Oh, shut up!", Erik scoffed. "What are you and your junks come up to deal Luna Nova, Helviti?" "They're not junks. They're my creations", Helviti argued. "I have been working on magical armors that can counteract ones that utilized by both Valkyries and Drekherjar of Thapoli since she rejected my proposal to develop mass-produced versions of my Dark Valkyrie Armor. Given to the history of development of Solais Metal until Golden Magic Age, I understand why she did." "lt's been tried already." "But you didn't have a Thapolian witch-blacksmith helping you working on it then, did you?" The elderly druid paused, before nodded, "Good point. At least you proved yourself better than that madman." "As useful as Old Farmatyr can be, it's just a matter of time before he turned against us. You must be careful with him, Erik", Helviti warned, before decided to change the topic of their conversation. "I can tell you also here because a piece of the key for our God's prison had been found at Blytonbury, wasn' it?" "How did you know that?", startled Erik. "An associate of ours was there when it was found", Helviti grins. "And it's just the matter of time before Luna Nova and Thapoli make their move to retrieve it. When they do, I will be there. After all, the time has come for me to have a reunion with an old rival of mine." =ᚢᛁᛐᛍᚼᛂᛌ ᚮᚠ ᛘᛁᛑᚵᛆᚱᛑ= "Extra! Extra! "Mysterious Object Uncovered at Construction Site!" It is a lunch break at Luna Nova when Wangari spreads the latest edition of Luna Nova newspaper at the cafeteria. The featured article is about discovery of a mysterious object at the construction site in Blytonbury. According to the reports, the construction workers unearthed some sort of old stone altar that held a runic staff in a freak accident. One of the workers also reported to suffer minor injuries, implied to be result of triggering some kind of booby trap. The authorities had secured the area to prevent future incidents and investigate how the altar had been there in the first place. "Just few blocks from Last Wednesday Society? What do you think it is, Lotte?", Akko wondered. "Who knows? They said it was some kind of ancient altar with what appeared to be a staff locked onto it", Lotte said as she read the featured article. "Now I remember. Blytonbury has a fair of magical history in it, but not all of them are pretty. I mean, few days ago I heard the shop keeper of magic item café discussing a rumor pertaining a certaing group of Scandinavian witches hiding a staff of power somewhere in the town a long time ago. It was said that a terrible disaster will fall upon the world if it ever fall into the wrong hands, as that staff was part of they key to imprison an ultimate evil." "An ultimate evil?", Akko wondered. "A Jotunn, the God of Destruction", Lotte explained. "It was defeated by the Nine Olde Witches, but not completely destroyed. They and their followers sealed the Jotunn away, with that staff being part of the key to unlock it. I hope the one in the news isn't that staff." "Jotunn? What is that?" "They are known as giants from Norse mythology, but that was everyone mistaken", Sucy rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Jotnar are NOT giants. They are transcendant entities placated by Vikings in the past, demanding sacrifices from those who worship them. If the sacrifice is a witch... Kkkkhhhh... The Jotnar will suck away her magic power, hanging her on the tree, take turns nibbling on her innards, and let carrions eat away the rest." "That's disgusting! I lost my appetite because of you, Sucy", Akko exclaimed in disgust. "Even if it's true, that's not how the sacrifice looked like." The three friends turn around, and sees Diana standing behind Akko with her usual stoic expression. Normally the top student is accompanied by her roommates Hannah and Barbara whenever she goes, but this time, the two is nowhere to be found. "Diana?", Akko asked. "What is it?" "The headmistress require your immediate presence at her office", Diana said. "Do you three still have your new armbands with you?" Akko stared at her for a moment, then realized what the prodigy meant. They and Ursula had agreed to address their Valkyrie Bracelets as armbands at an earlier date, in order to keep it secret. "Yes, we do", Akko nodded. "Good. Let's not keep her waiting then", Diana nodded before gestured the red team to follow her. Followed by the red team, Diana pushed open Principal Holbrooke's office door. The principal herself is speaking with a familiar young man with formal suit, Newt, and Professor Ursula. They seemed to have an important conversation. "So it finally come to their attention?", Headmistress Holbrooke asked. "I'm afraid so", the young man nodded somberly."Judging from their attack patterns and our leads so far, it appears that they are looking for peculiar artifacts derived from Norse mythology... something about Franang's Falls. We also suspecting the one discovered at Blytonbury on the other day might be their next target." "A-Andrew?!", Akko yelped upon recognizing the young man in suit. "What are you... I mean, what brings you here?" "This is the reason why Headmistress Holbrooke summoned us to her office", Diana explained. "We just received the news from British government that Naglfar had made their presence known to the public through series of raids. And Mister Hanbridge is here as their representative." "Really? You now are the representative of British government, Andrew?", Akko said with her starry eyes. "That's so cool!" "Actually, I'm acting as their honorary representative for this kind of situation", Andrew corrected, before turned on the headmistress and continued. "Now, back to the business. We initially suspecting that Naglfar are a group of ordinary criminals until recent reports revealed that they use magic. That, coupled with the fact that we never facing this kind of threat become the reason why the government came to agreement that enlisting assistance from witches is the best way to deal them." "Which is why you requested our assistance?", Holbrooke guessed. "Yes. But in the condition where the collaboration between us and this group's true nature remain secret from public in order to prevent panic. It's up to you how would you do your part in dealing this threat. We will do ours as well." Headmistress Holbrooke, Newt, and Ursula exchange a look for a moment. After a while, Holbrooke nods, "We will help you." "Good. With this, I have concluded my business here", Andrew said. "I will let them know Luna Nova have accepted our request. Now if you excuse me." With a final nod, Andrew left the office. A moment later, Newt finally speak, "I suspect it as much. They changed tactics." "What do you mean?", Akko asked. "Naglfar normally keep themselves in a low profile ever since they became shadow of their former selves following their loss in Thapoli-Naglfar War. They must be either desperate, or something worse", Holbrooke said somberly. "Anyway, we have a pressing matter at hand right now." Conjuring a magic screen on the air, Holbrooke shows everyone present the scene of construction site where a strange altar on the news had been unearthed, which now surrounded by barricades and police tapes. "It was a wise decision Mister Hanbridge enlisted our assistance to deal this matter. Two hundred years ago, a group of Thapolian witches, with guidance of Jennifer the Witch, constructed a secret altar at what is now known as Blytonbury in order to hid and contain Binding Staff. Binding Staff is a runic staff created as one of three pieces of magical staff known as Confinement Staff of Hoddmimi, one of the most powerful magical artifacts Thapoli ever created." "Confinement Staff of Hod-what?", Akko asked. "Confinement Staff of Hoddmimi", Ursula corrected, before continuing the briefing session. "It is a special staff created as the key to unlock a magic seal at Franang's Falls. As you can see, that altar has been accidently uncovered last night. About Franang's Falls on the other hand, it is a place mentioned in history records of Thapoli dated in the era of Golden Age of Magic. But for some reasons, Thapoli deliberately erased most of information about it... leaving nothing but vague clues with that altar being one of them." Unbeknownst to everyone in the office, Amanda is eavasdropping their conversation from the outside. Upon seeing Akko, Lotte, and Sucy heading to Headmistress' office accompanied by Diana, Amanda wondered whether the red team just have caused a trouble severe enough for them to potentially expelled until the sight of Andrew leaving Luna Nova and conversation inside suggested something else. The salmon-haired witch was about to leave when the mention of Franang's Falls caught her attention. "Then what that place and the altar have something to do with Naglfar?", Diana asked , before realizing the significant connection between the two. "The altar... They must be intended to break the magic seal." "Which is why we must secure the Binding Staff as soon as possible", Newt added. "With that altar's discovery has been all over the news, it's just the matter of time before Naglfar come to retrieve it before us. According to what Mister Hanbridge told us, Naglfar are looking for certain magical artifacts which have something to do with Franang's Falls for quite some time. We have yet to find out why, but one thing is clear; Whatever they planning at, it doesn't bode well for us. We can't afford to let them get their hands on either that artifact or the rest of the parts of Confinement Staff." "Hang on a minute. What's inside the magic seal that they wanted it so badly?", Lotte asked. "I bet it must be the world's rarest and most exotic poison. Hehehehehehe... ", Sucy guessed with her casual toothy grin, earning her a bummer look from Akko, Diana, and Newt with Akko asked, "Is there anything in your head aside poisons or mushrooms, Sucy?" =ᚢᛁᛐᛍᚼᛂᛌ ᚮᚠ ᛘᛁᛑᚵᛆᚱᛑ= The day nearly draw to a close by the time Akko, Lotte, Sucy, Diana, and Ursula arrived at the construction site. Ursula informed the security guard about their business, and the guard allowed her and the students to enter. Surveying the area for a moment, the group can see an unfinished two-stories building, rock piles, pools of water, and plethora of building supplies and construction tool everywhere. The only thing that stands out from the rest is of course, the runic altar on the center with an iron plate on its side. The construction site itself is a big area, perhaps because a shopping center was intended to be built there. However, its construction progress came into a halt following the discovery of a strange runic altar yesterday, and things went downhill from there. "I don't care how would you rid of that thing, but make it quick. It give me and the others creeps, especially since it knocked our boss out", the guard said uneasily. "Sure you and those kids can handle it by yourselves?" "There's no need to worry. We can handle this", Ursula reassured. "I hope you do. I gotta go home early, cuz tonight is my son Thomas' birthday", the guard said before tossed the French witch the key. "Lock up when you're done, okay?" Ursula gives the guard a reassuring nod as he walked away, before catching up with Akko and others. Examining the altar, Diana found nothing unusual on it, not even signs of built-in booby traps. However, looks can be deceiving, so the prodigy slams her wand and valkyrie blade together, producing green sparks that reveal a number of futhark runes all over the altar. The runes glow in bright shade of blue before disappears as Akko asked, "What is that?" "Futhark wards", Diana explained. "They booby-trapped the altar to prevent anyone from stealing the staff." "So, what do we do?", Lotte asked. "In order to safely remove the staff, these wards must be dispelled one by one", Diana said, before pulling out her wand. "Professor Ursula, may I have your assistance? I'd like to dispel them all by myself, but we need to finish this quickly. Hopefully we not encounter any of those Naglfars tonight, as three of us still new in this field." "But we ready to fight them!", Akko insisted. "Aren't we?" "No. You may now know how to fight, but it would be better if you pick your battles wisely", Ursula argued. "As protectors, we only resorted to violence if it deemed necessary, and if we do, we must ensure not to cause too much damage. Furthermore, you just spent 11 days of your training and in spite of your remarkable skills, it's too early for you to take down Naglfar yet. Understand?" "Yes", Akko nodded in dismay. Akko realized her mentor and hero did have a point. In spite of them now know how to fight and summon their armors, neither of her, Lotte, nor even Sucy that are as experienced as Ursula or Diana. Furthermore, it's a foolish decision to recklessly enter a fight that they may cannot win. Aggressive force is not always best solutions in every problems, and their newfound abilities must be used wisely. "So what do I, Lotte, and Sucy do while-?" "Who is there?!", Lotte suddenly cried. "What is it, Lotte?", Sucy asked. "I think I saw someone in there", Lotte said, pointing towards a pile of steel beams not far from the group. "Are you sure?", Akko asked, looking at the direction where the Finnish pointed at. "I don't see anyone." Sucy looked around the site for a moment before notices a sudden movement in the shadows. Acting fast, the Manbavaran throws out a small vial of green liquid against the shadowed figure. The figure swiftly evade the vial, but to her shock, it released a cloud of green gas upon impact on the wall behind her. In panic, she responded with a familiar voice. "Gah! What the heck is this?!", the figure yelled as she rushed out of the cloud before abruptly stops, finding herself surrounded by Akko, Lotte, Sucy, Diana, and Ursula. "Amanda?!", everyone except Sucy yelled at the same time, followed by Akko who demanded, "What are you doing here?" "H-hey! I wanted to asked you guys the same thing!", Amanda replied nervously. To the Irish-American's surprise, Diana walked towards her with a serious look on her face before stops just as they around few feet away from each other. Her confusion only grows when the Cavendish slams both her wand and Valkyrie blade together in front of her face, producing sparks that flying towards her. Seeing the sparks have no effect on the rebel, Diana finally speak, "Now, would you like to explain why are you here?" Realizing that she now cornered and had no other choice, Amanda finally explained the reason why she snuck into the construction site. =ᚢᛁᛐᛍᚼᛂᛌ ᚮᚠ ᛘᛁᛑᚵᛆᚱᛑ= "Let me straight this: You eavasdropped our conversation at Headmistress' office and followed us all the way here because you heard something about Franang's Falls, didn't you?", Ursula sum it up. "No no, not really! I mean, not until I heard guys mentioned something about it!", Amanda said nervously. Diana sighed in exasperation, "You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into, Miss O'Neill. This has nothing to do with you." "But it does!", Amanda insisted. "Do you guys remember I once mentioned that I have a cousin named Clarisse?" "Yes, and you said she died two months ago, didn't she?", Akko said flatly. "It's true, but that's not it all", Amanda nodded. "She had been looking for the meaning behind that phrase for quite some time before her death. I thought her obsession for Franang's Falls was just one of her silly antics until I realized how much it meant to her. When I heard you guys mentioned Franang's Falls, there's no way I-" "Everyone incoming!", Ursula suddenly cried before pushing Diana and others from an oncoming searing ball of magic that shot towards them out of nowhere. The magic bolt hits the ground between them and explodes, sending the witches flying violently and separate them from the altar. The blast pushed Amanda back violently, resulting her hit her back on the wall hard and her groggy body lied on the floor. Ursula, Akko, and the rest of witch students on the other hand, not harmed by the blast and able to quickly return to their feet thanks to transparent layer of protective yellow barrier that encompassing their bodies- The protective barrier was formed by special left pauldrons given to them by Newt as part of their arsenals in case of facing combat situations. "What was that?", Lotte cried. "Over there!", Akko shouted, pointing towards something on the edge of the second of the partially finished building not far from them. Turning on direction the Japanese pointed at, Ursula, Lotte, and Sucy see an ominous figure with black witch hat staring coldly at them before leaped to the ground below, and lands flawlessly with no harm. Though obscured by the darkness around her, she wears what appeared to be a green mechanic coat over a grey robe and black pointed shoes. Stepping out from the shadows, the figure lifts the rim of her hat, showing a cold, dark gaze that piercing into Ursula's very soul. "H-Helviti!", that's all Ursula could said upon recognizing the ominous witch in front of her and the students. "It's been a long time, Chariot du Nord", Helviti said calmly. =ᚢᛁᛐᛍᚼᛂᛌ ᚮᚠ ᛘᛁᛑᚵᛆᚱᛑ= 11 years ago, at the Great Library of Thapoli, an argument ensued between young Chariot, Helviti, and Newt over an ominous-looking tome. At that moment, Helviti stumbled upon an old book with an illegible title and opened it where to her pleasant surprise, it was a tome about ancient magic techniques to draw power from Helheim, realm of dishonorable death and one of Nine Realms connected by Great Tree Yggdrasil. She was about to read it when Newt, who coincidently at the library with her, abruptly took the book from her hands and warned her about the dark nature of knowledge within it. Their argument attracted Chariot's attention that she join the conversation, surprised that a book about forbidden magic was found in an obvious place. "Don't say stupid things! This is a forbidden art!", Newt yelled. "The book is forbidden because no one could fully master it until now, Master Newt", Helviti argued. "Not just until now! Even now it's too dangerous!", Newt argued back. "A protector must be strong, Master Newt", Helviti said, attempting to justify her interest. "Power is necessary to win every fights." "Power is NOT for winning every fights! It's to protect and benefit others! There's no meaning if you step off that path, Helviti", Newt said strictly. "But it doesn't change the fact that ultimate power is important", Helviti pleaded, before asked Chariot. "Chariot, do you agree with me? Is that why you looking for Words? The Grand Triskellion?" "Helviti, I-", Chariot said before Newt interrupted. "That kind of thinking of yours is dangerous, Helviti. It will consume you." Just then, a lilac-haired witch with glasses around Chariot's age, Croix Meridies, entered the library and about to greet Helviti only to see an argument ensued between her, Chariot, and Newt. Simultaneously, Newt made her leave with the old tome on her hands, but hesitate for a moment before turned on Helviti by the time she was about to reach the exit and said, "Helviti, you're already gotten stronger. It's just you yet to understand what's more important. I'm going to dispose this tome before it become a major problem. Understand?" "Yes, ma'am ", Helviti nodded in dismay as she watch her mentor left. "Helviti, what was that all about?", Croix finally speak to Helviti. Instead of answering, Helviti left the library without a word, prompting Croix to give chase. Chariot on the other hand, left alone in the room, lost in thought. =ᚢᛁᛐᛍᚼᛂᛌ ᚮᚠ ᛘᛁᛑᚵᛆᚱᛑ= "I've been waiting a long time for this moment, Chariot du Nord", Helviti said. "No, I supposed to call you now Ursula Callistis by now." "What do you want?", Ursula demanded. "You know her, Professor?", Akko asked to Ursula. "Yes", Ursula nodded somberly. "She was an ambitions valkyrie trainee, and my rival. We both trained under Master Newt's tutelage, but she never had a desire to protect others. She only wanted power for herself, and because of it, she deserted Thapoli after they caught her meddling with forbidden magic." "Seriously?", Akko said in disbelief. "You mean she's a valkyrie too?" "Now I remember nasty rumors mentioned by my trainer", Diana said. "He once mentioned something about a certain rogue Valkyrie who draw the power from Helheim, realm of dishonorable death, for her experiments in creating terrifying weapons of war. She even crafted her own armor infused with the same power as well." Studying Ursula and the young witches meticulously, Helviti recognized two of the younger girls, Diana and Akko, as the ones who restored magic back to Midgard. Surprised that the two are her rival's students, her eyes brightened up, "I see. So those two young witches everyone talked about are your students, aren't they? It's such a privilage to meet such accomplished generations. The well-worth journey from Isle of Heather indeed." Pulling out both her wand and Valkyrie Blade, Helviti magically combined both and transformed into into a long black glaive, before twirled it a few times before unexpectedly pointed it to the group, "But regrettably, my time is short. Step aside from that staff, and no one will get hurt." "You aren't getting the staff", Ursula said calmly. "Really?", Helviti replied confidently. "You think you can stop me with blunt blade of yours? You were granted with great power, yet you wasted it for parlor tricks. No wonder why Croix was upset when you didn't take the quest for World Altering magic of yours seriously 10 years ago. In the end, you just nothing but a trickster, Chariot." "What did you just say?!", Akko yelled angrily. "Calm down, Akko!", Diana warned. "Don't let her provoke you. She's not an ordinary witch." "Diana is right. Something in her scared Will-o-chan", Lotte added upon noticing her will-o-wisp familiar cowering behind her legs. "You may be right, but I already get over with it. I won't make the same mistake ever again", Ursula said firmly. "And you won't do as you please, Helviti!" "Is that so? Then proved it with your blade, Chariot. I respond to strength", Helviti replied. "I thought I can become the strongest Valkyrie by getting my hands on Sky Valkyrie armor of yours, but as it turns out, I can make an even better armor of my own. My resolve to walk this path only strengthened after learning your failure in your quest for Grand Triskellion and Naglfar interested with my works." "Naglfar?", Sucy repeated. "I'm not really interested in fighting for their cause, let alone their goals, but they appreciated me more than anyone else in Thapoli", Helviti continued. "It surprised me when they used my creations to attack Thapoli, but considering we have a common enemy, I don't mind with that. Not at all." "Creations? The attack?", Akko wondered, before realized to her utmost horror what Helviti means. Before she could say anything, she heard Lotte whispered, "Oh my God...", which means the Finnish guessed it too. So does Diana who, in spite of her calm expression, Akko could tell that she actually shocked as much as the rest. Except Amanda who confused by the whole conversation that she demanded, "Can somebody tell me what's going on here?!" "Sounds like you already know what happened to Thapoli, aren't you?", Helviti asked gleefully. " You're talking to the one who created Naglfars their newest war machines!" "Is this what Thapoli's greatest witch-blacksmith had become? Someone who betrayed her own nation?", Ursula spat in mix of anger and disgust. "It's just sad. Everyone looked up to you. Croix looked up to you. I'' looked up to you! You're pathetic!" "And I thought we can do this in easy way, Chariot. But to see you and those two girls here, I realized we have to do it in the hard way", Helviti replied. "Besides, it has begun." "What?", Diana asked. "The end of Nine Olde Witches' legacy!", Helviti exclaimed, followed by a pack of flying centipede-like robots that jumped out of nowhere and attacks. Author's Note '''Where there are villains, there will be heroes. Such statement also apply in this story, making me wondering whether this is quite typical to be a cliche.' In addition of construction site scene in 1995 film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, the idea about an ancient artifact found by construction workers also came from a certain scene in Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade. In that movie, the Mayor of Blytonbury ordered the Sealing Stone of Jennifer the Witch to be demolished and build new commercial facilities in its place in spite of the workers' warning. For those who have watched the movie, they know that it ended up awakened the sealed Titan underneath. A similar incident occured in chapter and ended up all over the news, though fortunately, they enlisted witches' help through Andrew and British government before it could get worse. Lucky them. I said that Akko and co. would face people who worse that Croix, and I was right: Actually, Akko already met one of such people, Elder Erik, in the first chapter. However, I made a special mention for Helviti, as she got history with Ursula and Croix. You'll know more about what happened between them in the next chapter. Anyway, all comments and feedbacks are greatly appreciated!!! Category:Fan Fictions Category:Series Category:Witches of Midgard-verse